Does God exist? | Where do we come from?

The BIG question. It certainly predates wedding rings and more than likely, the mining of metal as well. It supersedes the ultimate question: Why are we here? Where do we come from? What astonishly overwhelming questions! Were we created instantaneously roughly 4,000 years ago in a desolate area of the middle east? Were we reincarnated from a past life? Do we have any evidence to support any of our claims? Questions that many people are reluctant to give conclusive responses to, automatically delegating God for answering all inquiries demanding complex thought, and its back to text messaging and TV time.

Does God exist? Given that other than personal testimonials usually from religious extremists or profiting pastors, there is no evidence to support that such God or gods exist or have ever existed. There is however, a large amount of evidence to suggest that man has worshipped himself longer than history has permitted us to record. In effect, this is really nowhere near as significant as the outcomes created by man’s translation of ancient texts written allegedly through revelation from God himself! There are a considerate amount of people still around TODAY who scowl upon the questioning of commitments so profound, they would kill without hesitation to defend them. How can the extremes of the al Qaeda regime vary so drastically from that of catholic saints, yet both are based on the same UNDERLYING grotesquely barbaric Abrahamic texts.

So how do we set a level “mental playing ground” to approach the problem?

If a non believer argues his case solidly with well researched facts and the powers of logic and reason, can holy assumptions be so powerful as to depotentiate it all? We’ve seen a monopoly of religious beliefs and how they’ve been used historically to control populations to accomplish everything from building pyramids to blowing up buildings, all in the name of their god or gods, however, it seems as though God and any reference to him automatically triggers a warm and positive sensation warranting respect. Why is this?

Some claim it’s intuitively built into our neural infrastructure to want to believe. Does God exist? Where do we come from? The imagination one may associate with a growing child is a wonderful process of making hypotheses, testing, and ultimately learning new truths of the world. Eventually by accumulating millions of ‘learning incidents’ our logic and reason tend to allow us to leave most alleged beliefs behind.

The supernatural transcendent being overseeing our every move and knowing our every thought (only until death when eternity begins) may be a bit much for someone new to monotheism, when in turn, that same admission is what is claimed to bring peace to the hearts of billions. Realistically the message comes in the form of love and compassion for one another, focusing on the good within and emphasizing on Faith (believing without evidence). To believe something without evidence seems absolutely foolish in matters concerning business or relationships, on the other hand, it IS the foundation of which religion is rooted. How can thought processes so disparate coexist within ourselves? Does God exist in reality or does God exist in our minds? Where do we come from if God “created us? Where do we come from if there is no god? I consider these the greatest questions worth answering.

Historically religion was the base for science to the best of our abilities. It was our very first attempts of answering the unknown. How does the tide come in? The gods do it! How does the sun rise? The gods do it. Where do we come from? the gods… but does God exist?

For those that are not familiar with polytheistic beliefs, it predates any belief in a “God” by thousands of years and was the best tool that Homo sapiens had to deal with the arising art and science of reason and logic. Many scientists believe religion was a survival mechanism necessary for living and communicating in small kin groups. As we continued to evolve, grow, and adapt, it is historically obvious how we then began to focus on control. Controlling rocks by creating temples, controlling water by creating irrigation systems, domesticating wild wolves, and sequentially, human oppression.

How can one human be greater than another?

I think this was the part that got me at such a young age. How can priests talk to God but I can’t? Where’s the proof? Does God exist in certain humans? How can a man die and come back from the dead? Ironically any questions remotely similar to these are usually “auto stifled” and converted into biblical lingo referring God as the unanswerable, unadulterated, unequivocal solution for it all. Not to mention you are obligated to the confession of being born flawed and begging forgiveness for sins you never committed, solidifying a moral contract with breach of agreement resulting in eternal burning over and over forever and ever, and we are the only species out of up to 10 millions others to walk the planet chosen for his plan right here and NOW, for a minimal 2 1/2-20% of your income!

I say none of this out of anger or spite with intent to “slander” religion. I candidly reach out to those out there who may have questions they would like to discuss, thoughts to share, but most importantly to help you know that no matter how religious of a background you may be engulfed in, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Does God exist? Where do we come from? Reasonably logical questions to demand answers to. You are not wrong for questioning anything; your boss, your peers, your teachers, your parents, and most importantly, your God!

Is Religion Good | Belief in faith:

How organized religion controls by using faith.

Can the grand scheme of organized religion be so abstruse?

We see the selflessness instilled in religious beliefs through virtues, acts of healing, and vows of poverty, but the Vatican’s elaborate granite sculptures, priceless paintings, lavish golden chalices, and extensive banking investments tell a different story. Many claim there belief in faith is the reason why they prosper.

How did the allegory of Jesus, an illiterate carpenter from a forsaken sub section of the epitome of poverty in the middle east become the forefront for the richest, most materialistic branch of Abrahamic faith surviving today? Does this answer “is religion good”?

The problem is that most of us do not acknowledge these inquiries as even slightly as relevant as those along the lines of “is my obedience or belief in faith really going to pay off after I die? Will I see all my lost family and friends again somewhere?

Must one tip-toe around logical thought processes just to please an almighty being who allegedly already knows what we think anyway?

We must first analyze the past and look at the Roman empire, one of history’s most successful examples of autocracy. The emperor is king. He sets the rules he doesn’t follow, with his own design in mind. Does belief in faith warrant such power as well? Looking at the founding of rome’s religious institutions by Numa Pompilius, the empires second king, it was told to all he had personal relationships with a variety of deities, or gods, and spoke to them on different occasions.

How come he can talk to gods but I can’t? Is religion good only to believers?

[Keep in mind Roman polytheism derived from the Greeks a long time before Judaism began. This means people believed in many hundreds of gods and lived their lives according to pleasing these deities. Illness, successful hunts, and good harvests were all deciphered as denouements of the gods.]

The Roman republic/kingdom/empire shifted their beliefs throughout its history from polytheism to monotheism, adopting Christianity. It isn’t hard to realize the control-in-numbers tactic religion strives so vigorously to carry out. In turn, I first wonder why one would be so adamant about dictating the beliefs of others. Now keep in mind, I am still talking history here so I will not mention the %10+ of your income demanded by the church in today’s society. Since then, many revolutions have occurred, altering our morals and marking the progression of the human race, however, in order; money/commodities and power have remained, and will remain at the roots of man’s motive.

Is this guy telling me that behind all the good belief in faith represents, it’s all for money?

Absolutely not. It is never that simple. Most people enjoy helping others and feel a great bit of satisfaction from it. I’ve met countless amounts of genuinely decent people who would choose to give rather than receive (most of them of the Christian and Islamic faith). This, however, does NOT mean that because of their belief in faith, they are good people. And that a household without a god always watching over it produces those of opposite values and morals. People are good people because they choose to be. They, just like you, or me, encounter what we perceive to be good and bad decision crossroads every day. Whether we choose to act “morally right” or “morally wrong” is completely up to us, and has nothing to do with a higher power… at least I hope not. I hope most of you are not all killers and adulterers that are only stifling those urges because of a fear of burning for eternity. Scary thought? I’m sure you’re not foolish enough to buy that right? Im sure your belief in faith has limits right?

Now since I referenced the underlying “fear of God” as truly being the “fear of the devil”, you have the base for monotheism. I find myself asking; is religion good or bad? In 325 AD Emperor Constantine I chose to implement Christianity, and actions of this magnitude were administered with deadly force. Why he chose Christian over Judaic belief is still debated today among historians. The difference between Judaism and Christianity, other than prophet discrepancies, is that Christianity actively sought out the poor and disadvantaged, spreading amongst the impoverished. They would usually convert the women first (remember women did NOT have “rights”), with the husbands soon following after. They also pursued the pagans, and even adopted their beliefs just to convert them. The Jews partook in none of this. By the way, the commonalities between pagan beliefs and Christianity are staggering, and I will be delving into that in the future.

Now imagine you are a Roman emperor with belief in many gods. Your goal is to control your population and grow them successfully to continue expanding the growing empire. How can you impose such tyranny on masses of people and not fear for your life?

EASY!

“It is Gods plan. I am merely a mortal following duties, and every one of you must obey as well or you will be publicly stoned to death.”

In order to put everything into the proper perspective you must understand evolution. Belief in faith is merely a defense mechanism evolved for our survival. Evolution of the human brain is such an intriguing topic and consequently, the hardest to properly study. We do not have living people from the 4th century to interact with and observe. Unfortunately that puts us in the most vague position, relying on the tiny fragments of history that endure millennia of climate changes and looters for us to find. The truth of ancient philosophies will never be fully understood, but more than likely if we were able to converse with an ancient, it would entail a brutally coarse, barbaric reciprocality.

So why must we still hold ancient texts written sporadically throughout thousands of years so close?

We go to the doctors when we are ill, not shamans. We drive cars and fly planes, use cellular phones to communicate, all advances allowed by our understanding of science and our manipulation of the elements. It is a beautiful process of scrutiny and peer correction working towards a common goal of a truth. TRUTH, that is of course what prompts me to act in the first place, not belief in faith. The reason why I’ve taken you on a journey over thousands of years to try to put the FACTS into perspective. To allow those who do not know, who were never given factual information, to see the wonderful world of truth we live in.

So to reiterate the initial question; Is religion good?

I will conclude with a final point. Belief in faith is to believe without evidence, and religion is the controlling force responsible for assembling faith. As for Christianity, they’ve gone as far as murdering to suppress any evidence contradicting their admissions.

SO THINK ABOUT THIS

If real, tangible evidence of God, Allah, or the boogie monster, Santa Claus and yetis were to ever surface, those of “faith” would have to regard that information as false. If not, then they would be lacking faith, therefore rendering religion impotent. What a beautiful scheme! Instill into people the fear of an afterlife, a far stretched demonized concept with no evidence, but much reason to fear God. But then again why would you need evidence? No one returns from the dead. But wait a minute…. I thought Jesus did? Well that of course depends on who you ask. Any practicing jew will certainly not recognize Jesus as a resurrected man, prophet, or son of God.

The muslims must be the most correct, they don’t believe in a resurrecting man either. Muhammad was a mortal prophet, a brutal religious military leader who converted masses of people in Mecca to Islam. Hinduism takes a much less totalitarian approach, relying upon ancient philosophies of karma, dharma, and societal norms. Buddhists and Hindus believe we will be reincarnated depending on our actions. So who’s right?

The reality of it is that thousands of years of devastation, genocide, and oppression derive from that very question. I’m very thankful to be able to live in a time where most oppressive actions are stifled, women have rights (in most countries), slavery is in the history books, and I can say what I want freely and not have to fear for my life!

The point is, DON’T let anyone or anything control you. If you choose to believe there is a greater power, as some scientists do, do not believe your actions are stored in some cosmic memory bank subject for review at death, and that horrible actions will warrant eternal scouldering. We are good people because we WANT to be, not because we are frightful of judgement if we are not. That is buffoonery. In my opinion, belief in faith will only hinder your ability to learn and grow as a human being I reiterate the question; Is religion good?